FAQ Answer

Is a person under instruction considered a passenger or a member of the crew?

Anyone on board an aircraft must either be a member of the crew or a passenger. Article 26(1) of the Air Navigation Order 2005 provides that in order to be a member of the flight crew a person must hold an appropriate licence. There are however certain exceptions to this, for example, at article 26(2)(c) which allows someone without a licence to act as a member of the flight crew where they are obtaining instruction in flying from a flying instructor on board the aircraft (i.e. the typical dual instruction flight). Therefore, if the person under instruction either has an appropriate licence or comes under one of the exceptions in Article 26 they are considered to be a crew member, if not they are considered to be a passenger.